A Park Hill South senior collected medals in two events, and some younger swimmers got some valuable Day 2 experience at the Missouri Class 2 Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday, Nov. 15.
Gentry Comstock
DENNIS SHARKEY/Citizen Photos
Senior Gentry Comstock earned medals in both the 50-yard freestyle event and the 100-yard freestyle event. Comstock finished third in the 50-yard freestyle event with a time of 21.02 after turning in a time of 21.28 in the preliminary race.
Comstock did even better in the 100-yard freestyle finals with a time of 45.85, which was good for runner-up in the event after turning in a time of 46.69 in the preliminary race. Comstock was only 0.08 seconds behind the winner.
Two of South’s relay teams also earned trips to the medal stand. The 200-yard freestyle team of senior Gavin Owens, freshman Ari Elder, senior Nicholas Maris, and Comstock finished fifth in the finals with a time of 1:27.57. The Panthers’ 400-yard freestyle relay team of Comstock, freshman Connor Landuyt, Owens, and Elder also finished fifth with a time of 3:16.44. The 200-yard individual medley team of sophomore Casey O’Hara, Maris, Elder, and Owens finished ninth in the consolation final with a time of 1:39.07.
Other racers who competed in the consolation finals included Elder, who finished 15th in the 100-yard freestyle event. O’Hara and Landuyt both competed in the 100-yard backstroke event, with O’Hara finishing in 11th place and Landuyt finishing in 16th place.
South also had three divers who qualified for the finals, with two of them earning medals. Cooper McQueen finished fifth, Atreyu McCauley finished in sixth place, and Henry Dorothy finished 13th. Joseph Russell finished 23rd.
Other swimmers who competed included sophomore Alexander Foot, who finished 25th in the 200-yard freestyle event and 31st in the 500-yard freestyle event, O’Hara who finished 29th in the 200-yard IM; Owens, who finished 22nd in the 50-yard freestyle event, Landuyt who finished 23rd in the 100-yard freestyle, and Maris who finished 28th in the 100-yard breaststroke event.
